Listen and read

Step into an infinite world of stories

  • Read and listen as much as you want
  • Over 950 000 titles
  • Exclusive titles + Storytel Originals
  • Easy to cancel anytime
image.devices-Singapore 2x
Cover for Languages Are Good For Us

Languages Are Good For Us

6 Ratings

5

Duration
10H 38min
Language
English
Format
Category

History

A celebration of the huge linguistic diversity that is open to all of us at birth, and that has inspired and fascinated humans since the invention of speech.

The acclaimed novelist Sophie Hardach – a German native who writes in English – explores languages, and multilingualism, as an expression of human creativity and identity, and a way to connect in an often fractured world – a necessary and important pursuit in these politically divided times.

The book's chapters roughly follow the trajectory of a human life, tracing our relationship with language from the first muffled sounds we hear in the womb, to the comfort and companionship it can provide in old age. The author weaves together her own experiences of language as the mother of a multilingual child and explores the science and history of speech. Languages Are Good For Us offers a unique perspective on a subject that affects us all.

2020 Head of Zeus Ltd

© 2021 W. F. Howes Ltd (Audiobook): 9781800246768

Release date

Audiobook: 7 January 2021

Others also enjoyed ...

  1. The Story of Work: A New History of Humankind
    The Story of Work: A New History of Humankind Jan Lucassen
  2. She Has Her Mother's Laugh: The Powers, Perversions, and Potential of Heredity
    She Has Her Mother's Laugh: The Powers, Perversions, and Potential of Heredity Carl Zimmer
  3. The Secret History of Food: Strange but True Stories About the Origins of Everything We Eat
    The Secret History of Food: Strange but True Stories About the Origins of Everything We Eat Matt Siegel
  4. How Language Began: The Story of Humanity's Greatest Invention
    How Language Began: The Story of Humanity's Greatest Invention Daniel L. Everett
  5. The Heretics: Adventures with the Enemies of Science
    The Heretics: Adventures with the Enemies of Science Will Storr
  6. A Brief History of Earth: Four Billion Years in Eight Chapters
    A Brief History of Earth: Four Billion Years in Eight Chapters Andrew H. Knoll
  7. How to Read Nonfiction Like a Professor: A Smart, Irreverent Guide to Biography, History, Journalism, Blogs, and Everything in Between
    How to Read Nonfiction Like a Professor: A Smart, Irreverent Guide to Biography, History, Journalism, Blogs, and Everything in Between Thomas C. Foster
  8. On Inhumanity: Dehumanization and How to Resist It
    On Inhumanity: Dehumanization and How to Resist It David Livingstone Smith
  9. The Week: A History of the Unnatural Rhythms That Made Us Who We Are
    The Week: A History of the Unnatural Rhythms That Made Us Who We Are David M. Henkin
  10. Some We Love, Some We Hate, Some We Eat: Why It's So Hard to Think Straight About Animals
    Some We Love, Some We Hate, Some We Eat: Why It's So Hard to Think Straight About Animals Hal Herzog
  11. Tomorrow's People: The Future of Humanity in Ten Numbers
    Tomorrow's People: The Future of Humanity in Ten Numbers Paul Morland
  12. How to Grow a Human: Adventures in Who We Are and How We Are Made
    How to Grow a Human: Adventures in Who We Are and How We Are Made Philip Ball
  13. The Rise of Yeast: How the Sugar Fungus Shaped Civilization
    The Rise of Yeast: How the Sugar Fungus Shaped Civilization Nicholas P. Money
  14. Strange Antics: A History of Seduction
    Strange Antics: A History of Seduction Clement Knox
  15. Wonderland: How Play Made the Modern World
    Wonderland: How Play Made the Modern World Steven Johnson
  16. Land: How the Hunger for Ownership Shaped the Modern World
    Land: How the Hunger for Ownership Shaped the Modern World Simon Winchester
  17. We Have Been Harmonized: Life in China's Surveillance State
    We Have Been Harmonized: Life in China's Surveillance State Kai Strittmatter
  18. The Age of Insight: The Quest to Understand the Unconscious in Art, Mind, and Brain, from Vienna 1900 to the Present
    The Age of Insight: The Quest to Understand the Unconscious in Art, Mind, and Brain, from Vienna 1900 to the Present Eric R. Kandel
  19. Reductionism in Art and Brain Science: Bridging the Two Cultures
    Reductionism in Art and Brain Science: Bridging the Two Cultures Eric R. Kandel
  20. Life's Edge: The Search for What It Means to Be Alive
    Life's Edge: The Search for What It Means to Be Alive Carl Zimmer
  21. A Story of Us: A New Look at Human Evolution
    A Story of Us: A New Look at Human Evolution Pete Richerson
  22. Field Notes From a Catastrophe: Man, Nature and Climate Change
    Field Notes From a Catastrophe: Man, Nature and Climate Change Elizabeth Kolbert
  23. This Is What Inequality Looks Like
    This Is What Inequality Looks Like Teo You Yenn
  24. Life: The Leading Edge of Evolutionary Biology, Genetics, Anthropology, and Environmental Science
    Life: The Leading Edge of Evolutionary Biology, Genetics, Anthropology, and Environmental Science John Brockman
  25. The Breath of a Whale: The Science and Spirit of Pacific Ocean Giants
    The Breath of a Whale: The Science and Spirit of Pacific Ocean Giants Leigh Calvez
  26. Extreme Cities: The Peril and Promise of Urban Life in the Age of Climate Change
    Extreme Cities: The Peril and Promise of Urban Life in the Age of Climate Change Ashley Dawson
  27. It's Elemental: The Hidden Chemistry in Everything
    It's Elemental: The Hidden Chemistry in Everything Kate Biberdorf
  28. Sentient: What Animals Reveal About Our Senses
    Sentient: What Animals Reveal About Our Senses Jackie Higgins
  29. The Future Earth: A Radical Vision for What's Possible in the Age of Warming
    The Future Earth: A Radical Vision for What's Possible in the Age of Warming Eric Holthaus
  30. Power, Sex, Suicide: Mitochondria and the Meaning of Life
    Power, Sex, Suicide: Mitochondria and the Meaning of Life Nick Lane
  31. Post-Truth
    Post-Truth Lee McIntyre
  32. In Search of Schrödinger’s Cat: Quantum Physics and Reality
    In Search of Schrödinger’s Cat: Quantum Physics and Reality John Gribbin
  33. Border and Rule: Global Migration, Capitalism, and the Rise of Racist Nationalism
    Border and Rule: Global Migration, Capitalism, and the Rise of Racist Nationalism Harsha Walia
  34. Vaccinated: From Cowpox to mRNA, the Remarkable Story of Vaccines
    Vaccinated: From Cowpox to mRNA, the Remarkable Story of Vaccines Paul A. Offit
  35. Eating Chilli Crab in the Anthropocene
    Eating Chilli Crab in the Anthropocene Matthew Schneider-Mayerson (Editor)
  36. Sex Robots & Vegan Meat: Adventures at the Frontier of Birth, Food, Sex & Death
    Sex Robots & Vegan Meat: Adventures at the Frontier of Birth, Food, Sex & Death Jenny Kleeman
  37. Honeybee Democracy
    Honeybee Democracy Thomas D. Seeley
  38. The Hidden World: How Insects Sustain Life on Earth Today and Will Shape Our Lives Tomorrow
    The Hidden World: How Insects Sustain Life on Earth Today and Will Shape Our Lives Tomorrow Dr George McGavin
  39. Losing Earth: The Decade We Could Have Stopped Climate Change
    Losing Earth: The Decade We Could Have Stopped Climate Change Nathaniel Rich
  40. Notes on Resistance
    Notes on Resistance Noam Chomsky
  41. Exposure
    Exposure Robert Bilott
  42. The Tangled Tree: A Radical New History of Life
    The Tangled Tree: A Radical New History of Life David Quammen
  43. On Color
    On Color David Scott Kastan
  44. The Fabric of Civilization: How Textiles Made the World
    The Fabric of Civilization: How Textiles Made the World Virginia I. Postrel
  45. Biography of Resistance: The Epic Battle Between People and Pathogens
    Biography of Resistance: The Epic Battle Between People and Pathogens Muhammad H. Zaman
  46. Climate Crisis and the Global Green New Deal: The Political Economy of Saving the Planet
    Climate Crisis and the Global Green New Deal: The Political Economy of Saving the Planet Noam Chomsky
  47. The Reason for Flowers: Their History, Culture, Biology, and How They Change Our Lives
    The Reason for Flowers: Their History, Culture, Biology, and How They Change Our Lives Stephen Buchmann
  48. The Sleeping Beauties: And Other Stories of Mystery Illness
    The Sleeping Beauties: And Other Stories of Mystery Illness Suzanne O'Sullivan
  49. Global Inequality: A New Approach for the Age of Globalization
    Global Inequality: A New Approach for the Age of Globalization Branko Milanovic
  50. The Withdrawal: Iraq, Libya, Afghanistan, and the Fragility of US Power
    The Withdrawal: Iraq, Libya, Afghanistan, and the Fragility of US Power Noam Chomsky
  51. The End of Gender: Debunking the Myths about Sex and Identity in Our Society
    The End of Gender: Debunking the Myths about Sex and Identity in Our Society Debra Soh
  52. God: An Anatomy - As heard on Radio 4
    God: An Anatomy - As heard on Radio 4 Francesca Stavrakopoulou
  53. Patrick Melrose Volume 1: Never Mind, Bad News and Some Hope
    Patrick Melrose Volume 1: Never Mind, Bad News and Some Hope Edward St Aubyn
  54. Superior: The Return of Race Science
    Superior: The Return of Race Science Angela Saini
  55. Blue: In Search of Nature's Rarest Color
    Blue: In Search of Nature's Rarest Color Kai Kupferschmidt
  56. Three Tigers, One Mountain
    Three Tigers, One Mountain Michael Booth
  57. Knowledge and information: The Potential and Peril of Human Intelligence
    Knowledge and information: The Potential and Peril of Human Intelligence Martin Ingvar
  58. Gene Machine: The Race to Decipher the Secrets of the Ribosome
    Gene Machine: The Race to Decipher the Secrets of the Ribosome Venki Ramakrishnan
  59. Bottle of Lies: The Inside Story of the Generic Drug Boom
    Bottle of Lies: The Inside Story of the Generic Drug Boom Katherine Eban
  60. The Political Mind: Why You Can't Understand 21st-Century American Politics with an 18th-Century Brain
    The Political Mind: Why You Can't Understand 21st-Century American Politics with an 18th-Century Brain George Lakoff
  61. The Ends of the World: Volcanic Apocalypses, Lethal Oceans, and Our Quest to Understand Earth's Past Mass Extinctions
    The Ends of the World: Volcanic Apocalypses, Lethal Oceans, and Our Quest to Understand Earth's Past Mass Extinctions Peter Brannen
  62. The Polymath: A Cultural History from Leonardo da Vinci to Susan Sontag
    The Polymath: A Cultural History from Leonardo da Vinci to Susan Sontag Peter Burke
  63. Extinction: A Very Short Introduction
    Extinction: A Very Short Introduction Paul B. Wignall
  64. Democracy at Work: A Cure for Capitalism
    Democracy at Work: A Cure for Capitalism Richard D. Wolff
  65. Extremism
    Extremism J.M. Berger
  66. Extraordinary Insects: Weird. Wonderful. Indispensable. The ones who run our world.
    Extraordinary Insects: Weird. Wonderful. Indispensable. The ones who run our world. Anne Sverdrup-Thygeson
  67. Becoming Human: A Theory of Ontogeny
    Becoming Human: A Theory of Ontogeny Michael Tomasello
  68. Revolt: The Worldwide Uprising Against Globalization
    Revolt: The Worldwide Uprising Against Globalization Nadav Eyal
  69. Oaxaca Journal
    Oaxaca Journal Oliver Sacks
  70. An Atlas of Extinct Countries: The Remarkable (and Occasionally Ridiculous) Stories of 48 Nations that Fell off the Map
    An Atlas of Extinct Countries: The Remarkable (and Occasionally Ridiculous) Stories of 48 Nations that Fell off the Map Gideon Defoe
  71. The Fragile Earth: Writing From the New Yorker On Climate Change
    The Fragile Earth: Writing From the New Yorker On Climate Change David Remnick
  72. Seeing Voices
    Seeing Voices Oliver Sacks
  73. I Contain Multitudes: The Microbes Within Us and a Grander View of Life
    I Contain Multitudes: The Microbes Within Us and a Grander View of Life Ed Yong
  74. Smell: A Very Short Introduction
    Smell: A Very Short Introduction Matthew Cobb
  75. The Last Butterflies: A Scientist's Quest to Save a Rare and Vanishing Creature
    The Last Butterflies: A Scientist's Quest to Save a Rare and Vanishing Creature Nick Haddad
  76. How to Survive a Plague: The Story of How Activists and Scientists Tamed AIDS
    How to Survive a Plague: The Story of How Activists and Scientists Tamed AIDS David France
  77. Nine Pints: A Journey Through the Money, Medicine, and Mysteries of Blood
    Nine Pints: A Journey Through the Money, Medicine, and Mysteries of Blood Rose George
  78. Metazoa: Animal Minds and the Birth of Consciousness
    Metazoa: Animal Minds and the Birth of Consciousness Peter Godfrey-Smith
  79. The Genius of Birds
    The Genius of Birds Jennifer Ackerman
  80. Knowing What We Know: The Transmission of Knowledge: From Ancient Wisdom to Modern Magic
    Knowing What We Know: The Transmission of Knowledge: From Ancient Wisdom to Modern Magic Simon Winchester
  81. Elephants on Acid: The most outrageous experiments from the history of science
    Elephants on Acid: The most outrageous experiments from the history of science Alex Boese
  82. The Etymologicon: A Circular Stroll Through the Hidden Connections of the English Language
    The Etymologicon: A Circular Stroll Through the Hidden Connections of the English Language Mark Forsyth
  83. This Mortal Coil
    This Mortal Coil Andrew Doig
  84. You Say Potato: A Book About Accents
    You Say Potato: A Book About Accents Ben Crystal
  85. Creation: How Science is Reinventing Life Itself
    Creation: How Science is Reinventing Life Itself Adam Rutherford
  86. Atlas of AI: Power, Politics, and the Planetary Costs of Artificial Intelligence
    Atlas of AI: Power, Politics, and the Planetary Costs of Artificial Intelligence Kate Crawford
  87. Platypus Matters: The Extraordinary Story of Australian Mammals
    Platypus Matters: The Extraordinary Story of Australian Mammals Jack Ashby
  88. The Importance of Being Interested: Adventures in Scientific Curiosity
    The Importance of Being Interested: Adventures in Scientific Curiosity Robin Ince
  89. Talking Back, Talking Black: Truths About America's Lingua Franca
    Talking Back, Talking Black: Truths About America's Lingua Franca John McWhorter
  90. An Elegant Defense: The Extraordinary New Science of the Immune System: A Tale in Four Lives
    An Elegant Defense: The Extraordinary New Science of the Immune System: A Tale in Four Lives Matt Richtel
  91. Outbreaks and Epidemics: Battling infection from measles to coronavirus
    Outbreaks and Epidemics: Battling infection from measles to coronavirus Meera Senthilingam
  92. China Unbound: A New World Disorder
    China Unbound: A New World Disorder Joanna Chiu
  93. Infectious: Pathogens and How We Fight Them
    Infectious: Pathogens and How We Fight Them John S. Tregoning

Features:

  • Over 950 000 titles

  • Kids Mode (child safe environment)

  • Download books for offline access

  • Cancel anytime

Most popular

Unlimited

For those who want to listen and read without limits.

S$12.98 /month

3 days free
  • Unlimited listening

  • Cancel anytime

Try now

Unlimited Bi-yearly

For those who want to listen and read without limits.

S$69 /6 months

14 days free
Save 11%
  • Unlimited listening

  • Cancel anytime

Try now

Unlimited Yearly

For those who want to listen and read without limits.

S$119 /year

14 days free
Save 24%
  • Unlimited listening

  • Cancel anytime

Try now

Family

For those who want to share stories with family and friends.

Starting at S$14.90 /month

  • Unlimited listening

  • Cancel anytime

You + 1 family member2 accounts

S$14.90 /month

Try now